Usher's Customary

POHICK CHURCH
(Revised May, 2007)

I. General: This document outlines the procedures to be followed for all Services
conducted at Pohick Church. It should be used as a ready reference for all ushers.
a. The ushers are hosts to those are attending a Service and as such should project the
warmth and the hospitality of the members of Pohick Church, while at the same time
providing appropriate assistance in the conduct of the Service.
b. Ushers are scheduled on a monthly basis, with the schedule appearing in the Pohick
Post and on the Parish Website (www.pohick.org/ushersched.html). In addition, the
names of ushers for the current and following Sundays are published each week on the
last page of the Sunday bulletin. The first name listed as usher for each Service is the
designated Head Usher.
c. If you know dates you are unable to serve, please notify the Usher Chairman before
the monthly schedule is published. Once the schedule is published and you are unable
to serve on the day your are scheduled, it is your responsibility to arrange for a substitute
and to notify the Parish Secretary and the Usher Chairman.
II. Common ProceduresAII Services:
a. Please arrive at least 30 minutes prior to the scheduled Service. The first person to
arrive should collect the bulletins and inserts, and Alms bag inserts from the counter in
the Parish Office. Stuff the inserts in the bulletin concurrently with receiving and seating
parishioners. Also check for the Large Print editions of the prayer book and for the
hearing aids. They should be present in the rear of the Church. The Head Usher for the
7:45 Service should bring them from the Parish Office, and the Head Usher for the 11:15
Service should return them to the Parish Office. If anyone requests a hearing aid, an
usher should walk over to the Parish Office to inform the Celebrant so that he/she will be
sure to wear the microphone.
b. Receive parishioners with a smile and a HELLO or GOOD MORNING, and inquire as
to their preference for seating. If they have no preference, take them to the front of the
Church. Your goal is to fill the front of the Church first, and save space in the rear for
latecomers. You will receive parishioners through the two rear doors and the side door.
Ushers should be assigned to cover all three doors, but assist where necessary to
maintain a smooth flow for seating.
c. If you are able to identify first time visitors to Pohick, try to seat them with regular longterm Pohickians, making appropriate introductions as you seat them.
d. Check the listing of hymns in the bulletin against the Hymn Boards on each side of the
altar. Occasionally, the hymn numbers will be transposed. Please take corrective action
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as appropriate. Also be alert for the lighting of the candles on the altar. The Acolyte for
the Service is supposed to light the altar candles. If the candles are not burning five
minutes prior to the Service, please take appropriate action to light them. As you face the
altar, light the candle on the right side first, and then the left side candle. Also check to
see that at least one Alms Bag has an insert. Look for the extra inserts at the rear of the
Church (in the closet closest to the Parish Hall or on the rear window ledge) or on the
counter in the Parish Office. Check if Pew Cards and pencils need to be replaced in any
of the holders. Also, replace any Pew Cards that have been scribbled on or are dogeared. Extras of both Cards and Pencils are in the closet at the SW end of the Church
(closest to the Parish Hall).
e. RING THE BELL VIGOROUSLY 15 minutes prior to the Service; 5 minutes prior to the
Service; and again at the appointed start time. Ring it so vigorously (6 to 8 times) that the
people of downtown Lorton will know that Pohick Church is starting one of its Services.
f. Continue to seat people up to the beginning of the Service. Once the Service has
started, seat them ONLY at the times designated in the bulletin with an asterisk. We do
not want to interrupt the Service nor the praying of the other parishioners already seated
in the pew boxes. Politely explain to the latecomers that you will seat them at the
appropriate time, and have them stand or sit in the folding chairs along the rear of the
Church until that time. However, do not crowd the old font under the West window. Do not
move the security posts and rope that are positioned around the old font.
g. Once the procession has started, the side door to the Church should be closed after
first positioning the outside sign in the center of the porch directing latecomers to enter
the rear of the Church.
h. Take a count of the congregation as soon after the Service has started as possible.
This is to be done under the supervision of the Head Usher. Typically each usher is
assigned a section of the Church to count. Every person present, including clergy,
acolytes and ushers, is to be counted, to include the choir loft. During the 9:00 Service
the young people will enter the Church and join their parents during the PEACE. The
Director of Christian Education will give a count of those entering the Church. The ushers
should facilitate this process. One usher has to be stationed at the side door to
open/close both doors; move the "latecomer" sign; and then reposition the "Latecomer"
sign after the children have entered. Both doors need to be opened to facilitate the
children's entrance. The total count of those attending will be passed to a person
assisting at the altar when the ushers move forward to collect the offering.
NOTE: The church doors have been re-furbished and now have lock bars on both
the top and bottom to increase security and to reduce damage by twisting the
doors when someone tries to open them when they are locked. Please make sure
that both top and bottom lock bars are in place when securing the doors.
i. Collecting the Offering. At the appointed time, and after the appropriate words for the
Presentation of the Bread and Wine have been spoken, the ushers will proceed two
abreast In each aisle with the Arms bags in their possession, pausing at the 'crossover"
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where the baptismal font is situated. You should wait at this point for the designated
couple to carry the Bread and Wine to the altar, present them, and return to their pew
box. The ushers will then proceed to the front of the Church and begin to collect the
offering, moving from the front to rear of the Church. (Note: It is at this point that the Head
Usher passes the count of the congregation to a person assisting at the altar. Also, If It
becomes obvious that a couple has not been designated to present the Bread and Wine,
two ushers should perform this function.)
j. After the collection has been taken, it should be consolidated into one alms bag insert.
The alms bags should be returned to the appropriate racks next to the stairs at the rear of
the Church at this time. If the organist is playing for the service, wait until the musical
introduction for the Doxology starts, at which time the ushers should move forward
together in each aisle (without the alms bags) to a position in front of the middle of the
altar rail. The Head Usher places the alms bag insert in the alms basin and they remain
standing at the altar rail during the singing of the Doxology. At the conclusion of the
Doxology, the kneeling cushion for the step in the center of the altar and the gate cord
should be placed in their proper positions; the ushers should then move to the corners of
the altar while the Head Usher retrieves the offering from the alms basin; and then all
proceed to the rear of the Church together. NOTE: AT THE 9:00 SERVICE ON THE
FIRST SUNDAY OF EACH MONTH A FOOD OFFERING IS ALSO PRESENTED AT THE
ALTAR AS PART OF OUR OFFERING. TWO USHERS SHOULD BE DESIGNATED TO
CARRY ONE BASKET UP EACH AISLE, PASS THEM TO PERSONS ASSISTING AT
THE ALTAR FOR BLESSING, AND THEN RETURNING THEM TO THE BACK OF
CHURCH.
k. The Church Office is now normally locked during the Services. With the set of keys that
the Head Usher collected from the Rector or Assistant Rector prior to the Service, the
Head Usher and one other designated usher will take the offering to the Treasurer's
Office and secure it in a lock box sitting on top of the safe in the office. Keys to the
Treasurer's Office door and the lock box are on the key ring. CAUTION: DO NOT OPEN
THE TREASURER'S OFFICE DOOR IF THE RED ALARM LIGHT IS SHOWING.
Request that one of the Clergy or a Teller deactivate the alarm first. After the offering is
secured, pass the keys to the Head Usher for the next Service or return them to the
appropriate Clergy person who gave them to you. The requirement for two ushers to take
the offering to the Treasurer's Office flows from a periodic review of Church processes
and procedures, and is intended to protect all ushers against any false allegations.
l. During the Communion Service, the celebrant will commune himself, and then offer the
sacraments to those assisting at the altar; to the choir; and then to the congregation.
While those assisting at the altar are receiving the sacraments, the choir will proceed to
the altar rail. The ushers will follow the choir, and then direct the congregation to the altar
rail by opening the pew boxes, moving from the front of the Church to the rear. Try to
anticipate the movement of the congregation to the altar rail by having at least eight
communicants standing in each aisle. It is desirable not to have any gaps in this process
if possible. During this time, take note of any persons who need to have communion
brought to them. Inform the clergy of this after everyone else has received, and then
guide them to the appropriate pew(s).
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m. After the congregation has received communion, the ushers proceed to the altar rail to
receive communion. To avoid delay the ushers should approach the altar rail as the last
of the parishioners are returning to their pew boxes. Ushers are no longer consuming
excess elements; the altar guild is now in charge of storing or reverently disposing of
these after the service. Following communion, the Head Usher places the kneeling
cushion and the gate cord for the center section of the altar rail aside; and they return to
the rear of the Church abreast in their respective aisles.
n. At the beginning of the recessional, a designated usher opens the side doors,
repositions the "Latecomer" sign to the side of the porch, and remains there to assist
people as they exit the Church. The rear doors are also to be fully opened. One usher
should be stationed at the bottom of the steps for each of the rear doors to greet
parishioners leaving that way and to assist anyone down the steps as necessary. For the
9:00 am service, ushers should assist in getting children attending Sunday School from
the pew boxes to the recession line as quickly as possible to facilitate their getting to out
ahead of the Congregation.
o. After the Service and after the congregation has left the Church, the ushers are to
straighten up the pew boxes and collect any bulletins left behind. Used bulletins are to be
recycled for the following Services. The Head Usher for the 11:15 Service should leave a
small stack of bulletins for visitors in the rear of the Church, and dispose of any remaining
bulletins by depositing them in the trash cans in the Parish Office. Also after the 11:15
Service the Visitors Alms Box Is to be moved towards the "crossover" near the side door;
place it in front of the "6" on Pew Box 6, but not in the crossover aisle.
III. Other Procedures/Requirements:
a. The fuse box for the Church is located in the right rear closet (as you look from the
altar). The steam heating thermostat previously located in the left rear closet (closest to
the Parish Hall) has been moved and there is no longer any need for the door of this
closet to be left open during the heating season. The thermostats for the air conditioning
are on the walls upstairs, are permanently set and should not be changed.
b. All lights should be turned on prior to the 7:45 service and turned off after the 11:15
service. The light switches for the chandeliers are located next to the side door. A
dimmer switch for the chandeliers is located in the right rear closet (closest to Route 1)
next to the fuse box. A light switch for the altar lights is also in the right rear closet
adjacent to the fuse box. The lights for the choir loft are located on the short wall in front
of the organ.
c. Reserve signs are located on a shelf in the left rear closet. Pew boxes are to be
reserved during special Services as directed/requested by the Clergy, the Acolyte Master
or the Director of Music.
d. A Vestry person has responsibility for the lock-up and security of the Pohick Church
facilities each Sunday.
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